Kelli Hopton – Preparing for the biggest day of my life – My Wedding
This is our own patient co-ordinator’s (Kelli Hopton) story on how she coped with the damon clear braces treatment, carried out by our principle dentist, Dr Gursh Bajwa.
My Braces Story
I have always wanted perfectly straight teeth and I distinctly remember my mother taking me to our dentist and asking about orthodontic treatments. Each time we were told that my case was cosmetic and I would have to learn to like my teeth. I have seldom been excessively self-conscious about my smile, however as I grew older & commenced working for Hereford Dental Clinic, I became increasingly more conscious and embarrassed about my teeth. My crooked teeth made me appear much younger that I was, but as I reached adulthood I found myself in the predicament of wanting straight teeth but not having to experience the stigma of wearing braces!
I met my husband in 2008 and we decided to get married in 2011. It wasn’t until I came to work for Hereford Dental Clinic that I thought about straightening my teeth for my marriage. I thought I had left it far too late and that the teeth would seldom be straightened in time; however Dr Gursh Bajwa assured me that the final result would be worthwhile and will be completed in time for my big day. I decided to go for it and I must admit I was very apprehensive about having to wear fixed brackets on the outside of my teeth.
I had the Damon Clear brace fitted near the end of June 2010 and I was surprised at how fast and pain free the procedure was. Dr Bajwa first fitted the upper brace to let me acclimatise to the way it felt in my mouth, which was a great help. My lower arch was then fitted two weeks after the upper arch, and by that time my treatment was well under way. The first thing I did when the brace was fitted was to look in the mirror to see how I looked; I was pleasantly surprised with how small the brackets were – They were so small that even my husband didn’t realise I had a brace on!
As I am always in constant contact with our patients, either face to face or over the phone, I was quite concerned about how my speech would be affected during my Damon Braces treatment. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find after a few hours I was used to the braces.
Eating was a challenge for a few days after the braces were bonded, but that was down to me being worried about breaking the brackets! I cut out anything hard or sticky and changed the way I chewed food, but as I became increasingly confident I began to eat everything normally again.
Sometimes I did experience slight discomfort with the brace; however I cannot recall the feelings so it can’t have been that bad! (a good tip is to swill your mouth with ice chilled water – Which immediately relieves the pressure of the wire!) Throughout the treatment I kept thinking about how wonderful my smile was going to be for my special day. This was made even better by the fact that I could see my teeth moving and resting into a straight position. I thought that I wouldn’t be smiling whilst having orthodontic treatment, but I found myself smiling more and more as my teeth were gradually straightened.
My brace was removed after 13 pain free months of treatments, one month to go before my wedding. I cried with tears of Joy when I saw my perfectly straight teeth, and I can honestly say that the treatment was worth it. My teeth were straightened and this is also shown by a positive change on my my face. For the first time in my life I felt beautiful!
The first thing I did was to bite into an apple and it did feel at first a little unusual. It takes a tiny bit of time to get used to not having brackets fixed onto the front of your teeth and in an unusual way, you kind of miss the braces. I started whitening my teeth immediately and it was so nice when patients started to comment on how nice my teeth were. They followed me through my treatment and I think that I even gave some patients the confidence to go through with their orthodontic treatment; as we could do it together.
My wedding day came and this was also the unveiling of my new smile to all my relatives and friends. Everyone was shocked and amazed at the transformation which was achieved by basically straightening my teeth. Lots of people have asked me where I had my teeth done and it’s surprising how lots of people need to have braces but don’t have the confidence to go ahead with treatments. I always look at my wedding pictures and I am so glad that I went with Damon Braces, as I am thrilled with my new smile!
If you are thinking about having braces, I urge you to do it as it will change your life.
